Thermal surge shower unit



s- 5, 1969 M. J. FRITZ 3,458,874

THERMAL SURGE SHOWER UNIT Filed Jan. 12, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY WA 1 Mn T Aug. 5, 1969 M. J. FRITZ 3,453,874

THERMAL SURGE SHOWER UNIT Filed Jan. 12, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 flm a Mm ROW United States Patent 3,458,874 THERMAL SURGE SHOWER UNIT Martin J. Fritz, Box 5, Pacific Palisades, Calif. 90272 Filed Jan. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 520,128 Int. Cl. A47k 3/00 U.S. Cl. 4-145 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shower in which very hot and very cold water are caused to flash instantaneously into a shower area in alternate rapid sequence such that, before the human system detects discomfort of one extreme, the opposite is applied, to produce a stimulating comfortable reaction.

This invention relates in general to thermal therapeutic devices, and more specifically to a surge manifold device for the rapid, alternate application of hot and cold spray to the human body.

The application of hot and cold water in rapid, alternate sequence is well known for its therapeutic value, but the physical means for accomplishing this effect is cumbersome.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an efficient and pleasing means for applying hot and cold water alternately to the human body in a repeated series of alternate applications.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such alternate applications at a rate much faster than the sensory centers require to react fully to the change.

It is a well recognized fact that the human nervous system requires a period of time to sense pain producing stimulus, and react. Because such reaction is in the realm of medical science, and because a discussion of the medical phenomenon of the human system would unduly burden the disclosure herein of a mechanical means for stimulating the system it is the intent herein to provide only the teaching of the discovery that rapidly alternating hot and cold impulses, with substantially no transition therebetween, is stimulating, and to provide two alternative embodiments for exemplifying the teaching. From this base, it will not require investigative imagination to produce commercial hardware of useful proportion and operative construction.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the best mode contemplated for the present invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1. is a perspective view, somewhat schematic in form, of a vertically-positioned thermal surge unit embodying theprinciples of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic illustration of one thermal surge manifold illustrating a section of tubing, the interior valve bar, and the top tube seal;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken along line 33 of FIG- URE 2, and greatly enlarged;

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the unit illustrated in FIG- URE l; r

FIGURE 5 is a piping diagram for supply of hot and cold water to the unit of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view, with portions broken away, illustrating an alternative construction; and

FIGURE 7 is a section through the construction of FIGURE 6.

The principles of this invention may be incorporated into professional and institutional type equipment, or into units which may be used privately in the home.

Referring to the drawings, FIGURE 1 is the operating mechanism generally referred to as the professional surge unit. as opposed to one intended for home use, and is inice dicated by the reference character 10. Surge unit 10 is adaptable for placement in a building, or in a mobile cabinet, according to the particular end use. It is built upon a base plate 12 in the illustration, and employs safety bars 14 which may be gripped by the person using the equipment for safety and support purposes.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 1, two surge mani folds 16 and 18 are placed in laterally-spaced relationship and are joined at the top by a housing 20.

Each of the surge manifolds is divided by a longitudinal valve bar 22, as seen best in FIGURES 2 and 3. The bar 22 has a face slot 24 to accept a Wiper blade 26. Blade 26 is urged out of the slot by springs 28.

The valve bar is fitted at the back to the contour of the manifold, and the wiper blade is pressed to the opposite manifold surface by springs, thus compensating for any size variations or lack of absolute cylindrical interior form. However, the valve bar is not intended to be an absolute water seal. The pressure on both sides of the valve bar will be substantially equal, and what leaking does take place will only tend to modify the temperature of the Water on the other side to a minute degree. Hence, absolute sealing is not a necessity.

A series of outlet holes 30 in each of the manifolds is placed to project water in jet spray streams toward an area forward of the two manifolds and somewhat between them. Thus, the person using the equipment stands in this impingement area to receive the spray. The direction of spray is suggested by arrows 32 in FIGURE 4.

It is the intent of these manifolds to accept cold water on one side of the bar 22 and hot water on the other side, and then to have the bar oscillate about four to seven times per second to produce a rapidly oscillating change of hot and cold spray.

In order to produce the oscillation of the blade, with no danger of electrical shock, a water motor 34 is suggested as a preferred embodiment of a power-driving mechanism. The water motor is not shown in detail, any turbine type of motor being acceptable for this purpose. In areas where water is a shortage, or more units are in the area than the supply pipe would normally supply, air motors may be substituted. In FIGURES 1 and 4, the water motor is indicated only in somewhat phantom outline.

The water motor is equipped with an output drive gear 36 which is meshed to a drive wheel 38. The wheel 38 has a stub shaft placed near the periphery of the wheel to act as an eccentric drive.

Links 42 and 44 are joined to provide drive connection to the valve bar in manifold 18, similar linkage is provided by a link 46 and a link 48 to the valve bar 22 in the manifold 16.

Thus, the size of the various gears and wheels, the

water pressure or air pressure, and the length of the links may be altered at will to determine the speed of the oscillation as desired.

Water from a hot line is fed to one side of each manifold, and from a cold line to the other side. Therefore, it is desirable that the drive apparatus from the motor 34 be in operation immediately in order to prevent a full, steady blast of either hot or cold water in the event one of the supply fails, or careless operation provides water from only one source.

A source of water is indicated by a hot water line 50 and of cold water from a source line 52. From the hot line 50, a union 54 connects a supply line to valve 56. Line 58 feeds water through a T fitting 60 to branch line 62 which supplies motive drive power to the water motor 34. Simultaneously, the T fitting provides water to the line 64 which supplies the right-hand side of the manifold 18 in FIGURE 5. A line 66 also is supplied with hot 3 water for the left side of the manifold 16, as shown in FIGURE 5.

Thus, as soon as the hot valve is opened, the motor 34 is supplied with water pressure and both hot sides of the manifolds 16 and 18 are supplied simultaneously.

A cold valve 68 is supplied from the cold water line 52 in like manner and also distributes water to the water motor and to the opposite sides of the manifolds by similar piping. Additionally, in order to assure the minimum of accident possibilities, sprockets 70 may be carried by the valve stems and interconnected by a chain 72. Thus, handles 74 and 76, which provide operator control, are actually one valve in function, and regardless of which handle the operator opens, both valves will be open.

In such an installation, the temperature of the water is controlled at the source, and is not intended to be adjusted by the person using the equipment. This is for professional employment and the professional person in charge selects the proper temperature and controls such temperature beyond the access of the person using the equipment.

Additionally, it is within the concept of this invention to provide a separate mixing valve system to supply the same temperature water to both sides of the manifold, with, or without, the use of the motor 34, in order to use the equipment as a conventional shower device.

The FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate the home-type unit which provides the alternate application of hot and cold water. In this embodiment, the alternate application is by the creation of planes of water and rotating the planes in order that each plane is alternately aligned and misaligned with the longitudinal dimension of the body of the person using the equipment. Thus, the hot and cold planes of water sweep over the body in rapid succession.

In the FIGURES 6 and 7, a shower head 78 is suggested as the type of construction which may be built into a home shower unit. A base plate 80 is equipped to accept a hot line 82 and a cold line 84. A cap plate '85 provides a bearing base for the operating mechanism.

.Recesses 86 are provided in the .face of the cap plate in abutment with the base plate 80. From each of the two recesses 86, a through Opening 88 provides a passageway and a guide bearing for tubes 90. Each tube 90 has a head 92 residing within a recess 86.

Cross arms 94 are carried by the tubes 90 and the external ends of the tubes are capped to prevent water loss. Thus, water from the lines is supplied to each of the recesses and in turn supplied to the cross arms through the tubes.

Each of the cross arms have a series of outlet holes 96 which are placed in an angular direction to provide a reaction force to drive the cross arms in a rotary fashion. The amount of angularity of the outlet holes 46 may be quite slight with a pressure of 40 to 60 pounds, and, hence, the spray will be substantially in a plane, although having some actual width.

The two cross arms 94 are caused to act conjointly with one another by the provision of a gear 98 carried by one of the tubes 90 and a gear 100 carried by the other, and the two gears enmeshed with one another. Thus, the space relationship selected for a particular shower head may be maintained always for maximum result.

In this embodiment, the supply of hot and cold water must be controlled by external control means of watever type may be suitable. A constant temperature supply, with or without mixing valves and interlocking controls, may be incorporated as the user may desire. Generally, the addition of such additional equipment will depend upon the financial investment desired.

Whereas the present invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the best mode contemplated, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention which is, therefore, not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be alforded the full scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A therapeutic water spray device, comprising:

means for providing two sources of water, one at a high temperature with respect to normal body temperature and one at a low temperature with respect to normal body temperature;

means for directing water from each source into a shower zone; and

means for alternating the application of said hot and cold water through said hot and cold water directing means into said shower zone at brief intervals above the rate that the human sensory centers require to react fully to the change, and with substantially no transition temperature blending between alternate applications.

2. A therapeutic water spray device, comprising:

a tubular conduit, a plurality of opening means carried along the length of said conduit for projecting water in jet spray streams from the interior of said conduit into a shower zone;

partition means for dividing said conduit longitudinally into a first and second separate water channel, means mounting and driving said partition means within said conduit to first establish said first water channel as a supply to said nozzles and thereafter establish said second water channel as a supply to said nozzles in repeated sequence; and

means for providing two sources of water, one at a high temperature to said first water channel, and the other at a low temperature to said second water channel.

3. A water spray device as defined in claim 2, further characterized in that:

said means for driving said partition being a water motor and linkage; and

said two sources of water each providing water to power said motor as well as to supply said conduit.

4. A water spray device as defined in claim 1, further characterized in that:

said means for directing water being two cross bar tubes each with angularity-directed jet spray openings for dispersing fluid and producing a reaction drive;

means for supply of hot water to one tube and cold to the other and mounting said tubes for reaction rotation; and

means interlocking said tubes in a spaced phase relationship.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 743,623 11/ 1903 Dinneen 137-602 1,216,746 2/ 1917 Stewart 239-243 1,759,439 5/1930 Coles 239-244 1,765,939 6/1930 Roach 239-243 1,831,223 11/ 193 1 Anstiss 239-243 1,839,485 1/1932 King 103-136 2,114,168 4/1938 Auger 251-305 2,307,363 1/ 1943 Dunham 239-243 2,373,702 4/ 1945 Moen 137-605 2,596,693 5/ 1952 Karlstrom 239-243 3,042,949 7/ 1962 Mosely 4-1 5 8 FOREIGN PATENTS 228,385 3/ 1960 Australia.

411,494 4/ 1910 France.

1,03 8,961 8/ 1966 Great Britain.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner D. MASSENBERG, Assistant Examiner 

